After being on the watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy award, Suffolk native Cole Christiansen has become a quarterfinalist.

The former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy football standout is in the midst of his senior season for Army at West Point, and his play seems to be getting better game by game. When preseason awards lists started coming out, Christiansen was among those on the watch list for the IMPACT trophy. He is now one of 20 quarterfinalists for the award.

Named after Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ronnie Lott, the Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to college football’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Founded in 2004 by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, the Lott Trophy is the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. The voting for the quarterfinalists was done by members of the Board of Directors, former coaches and players.

Through six games, Christiansen has 62 total tackles, which leads the team to go along with two forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks. He is also in his second season as a team captain. Army is currently 3-3.

In 2018, Christiansen had a strong season, finishing in the top two in tackles. He also was a first team All-Independent selection. As his strong year continues, Christiansen will likely attraction attention not only for awards but also for the NFL draft.

At NSA, Christiansen starred at linebacker. He is a two-time Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association State Defensive Player of the Year and helped the Saints win the VISAA State Championship in 2015. He was also selected three-time All-Conference and All-State, which included two Conference Player of the Year awards.